1,001 Hyrulean Nights
by wolfprincess18
Summary: A retelling of Arabian Nights. Zelda is captured by Ganondorf and tells him a story for 1,001 nights to save her life.


Hyrule was a beautiful country. Wide expanses of emerald fields. Crystal clear blue lakes. Sand of powdered gold. Mountains broke the clouds as they reached for the sky. However, Hyrule's natural beauty was simply…irrelevant. Most things are irrelevant when you are under the constant threat of a power hungry tyrant. Especially when the power hungry tyrant in question has a habit of decapitating young women.

In this mess, there was one blissful, ignorant maiden. Long blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders. Her eyes were an exquisite crystalline blue. Her skin a creamy white color. Her name was Zelda. She lived in one of the villages that bordered Hyrule Field and she had no idea who she was or what importance she would have on her country. Being beheaded never crossed her innocent mind. Until he found her.

Nighttime fell like a black, velvety blanket on Hyrule. Zelda slept in her room sweet dreams filling her head. The door creaked open and a tall, broad figure stepped in. The figure smirked and picked up the white clad maiden. She showed no sign of distress. Outside the tiny house, the man's great black horse waited. He mounted his steed and rode off into the darkness, his captive still asleep.

Zelda opened her eyes to a room that was definitely not her own. The walls were swathed in purple and gold silk and she lay in a bed that was much too big for her. She got up and looked down at it. A violet velvet blanket was laid over white satin sheets. The confused maiden went to the window and she looked out on a wide expanse of sand dunes made of gold. She was in the desert.

"How am I… what is this place?!" the frightened girl asked no one in particular. However someone did answer.

"This is the Castle of Ganondorf Dragmire the Great King of Evil, child," said a voice.

Zelda spun around to see a Gerudian woman in the doorway holding a white parcel.

"Ganondorf Dragmire? Then does that mean…"

"Yeah, quit your whining,"

The girl fell back against her bed her eminent death weighing her down like a wrecking ball chained to a drowning child. The Gerudian lay down the white parcel on the bed.

"Open it when you're ready,"

After the woman left, Zelda did open it. Inside was a top and skirt made of a pink material softer than silk. On it was a pattern of gold swirls and curlicues. The material felt good under her fingertips. She gingerly put it on and looked at herself in the full length diamond encrusted mirror. Why was she getting such special treatment? No, this was the room every girl had lived and died in. Did another girl wear these clothes? Did she die in them? Suddenly, the top and skirt felt intrusive and binding. Her breath hitched and she sat on the window seat, waiting. Waiting for the Gerudo. Waiting for the King. Waiting for the dark hand of death.

The suffering girl waited all day until night rose and the full moon shone high in the sky illuminating her with it's soft and gentle light. The door opened and there was the Gerudo.

"The King requests your presence,"

She nodded and stood up to follow the red haired warrior. The woman led Zelda down several winding hallways until they reached a set of large, mahogany double doors. The doors had scratches and foreign symbols were etched in them. Was it history writ there? Would she be added tomorrow after the axe dropped? Taking a deep breath, Zelda opened the door and entered.

Inside a tall, broad figure sat at his desk papers strewn any which way. He looked up when she entered. His eyes were as bright as the sun that brought life to the world. Except he brought death.

"Hello Zelda. Does the room please you?"

That is not what she had expected.

"Umm…well yes. It is a shame that I can only stay in it for a day," she fumbled.

He smirked. "Sit down," he said.

"However, tonight you will not sleep in that bed,"

The young girl cocked her head to the side in confusion. Ganondorf got up and sat down next to her on the bed. "You will sleep here,"

If he noticed her breath taking a sudden hitch and shallowing he didn't show it.

"You may wash up. I will have a servant bring clothes to you,"

Zelda nodded blindly and walked to the bathroom. She closed the door and turned on the bath. It took a few minutes for it to fill up with hot water but she was too distracted. Thoughts of fright and confusion swirled around in her head. After bathing in the sweltering water for her last time she wrapped herself in a white towel. There was a knock on the door.

"Yo, I brought your clothes," It was the ill tempered Gerudo.

Zelda opened the door a crack and was handed a white parcel. Inside was a lavender satin robe and a white silk nightgown. She put both on and took the bejeweled brush from the shelf. She doubted Ganondorf ever used it. It was probably for after the maiden's last bath. She ran it gently through her wet hair. Eventually, she gathered her courage and left the room. Ganondorf was waiting for her.

"How was your bath?"

His light, untroubled small talk infuriated the young woman.

"Very…nice," Zelda said in a small voice.

He laid down and with a self satisfied smirk. With a deep breath, Zelda lay down next to him. Of all the maidens, Zelda seemed braver than all of them. As far as Ganondorf knew she had not passed out or broken into uncontrollable sobbing. Eventually, the King fell asleep. Zelda did not. She watched him sleep her blue eyes somber. Late in the night just when Zelda was about to fall into the last sleep of her life she felt a tight grip on her shoulder, startling her back into waking. The King's brow was furrowed and his face was writ with anger and worry. Zelda bit her lip and gently tapped her captor's shoulder. After some tapping, shaking, and yelling Ganondorf's golden eyes flickered open. He looked at her murderously and the young girl knew she had to do something. And fast. She cleared her throat and began to speak.

"Once, in Hyrule's long, long past the pages of history were stained with the blood of a million lives. Things appeared prosperous to the onlooker for Hyrule was a successful monarchy ruled by a wise and fair king. The king tried to make sure that all of his people were treated equally. However, the King's father had not had the same views. He viewed the Hylians, Sheikah, and Gerudo far better than the Kokiri, Gorons, and Zoras. Even though the new king tried to mend ties between the six races the scars seemed permanent. In exasperation, the king became very angry with the three nonhuman races.

"Enraged, the Gorons started a rebellion against the king. At first it was simply marches and protests. The Zoras, once too shy to voice their political opinion to the King were inspired by the angry rock eaters. The Hylians, Sheikahs, and Gerudos were automatically on the side of the King. The only race not to choose a side were the Kokiri. They did not want to anger the King but they felt they deserved better for they lived in a secluded forest that no one bothered to visit. Pushed to the limit, the Kokiri joined the rebels.

"Some minor skirmishes occurred but nothing major happened until one of the Gorons poisoned the Queen, killing her and her unborn child. It threw the King and his human army over the edge. War was declared that day at dusk.

"The king, not wanting to fight in the battle himself recruited a young man as his general. He was not completely trusted by the troops for it was common knowledge he had a troubled past and there were rumors of double crossing. The general of the insurgents was a Goron by the name of StoneHeart. With the speed of the Gerudos, the Sheikah's invisibility, and the Hylian brute fighters the human races put up quite a fight. But the Gorons had the strength of boulders and the Zoras and Kokiris used their given powers of wood and water. The scenes of the battles were often on the grounds of the nonhumans. Death Mountain, Zora's River, The Lost Woods.

"In the beginning the loyals had the upper hand. Parts of Death Mountain now belonged to the humans and so did Zora's Domain. And the troops were doing their best to take over the Kokiri Forest where the nonhumans were in retreat. Most of the loyal troops were battering at the defenses, determined to take it down. A small fleet, including the clever and strategic general took leave in Gerudo Valley, plotting their next attack on the Kokiris. 'There is a way to attack the forest from a different angle. If we get off the bridge here there are tunnels that lead straight into the heart of the village. It will be ours in mere minutes,' the general declared.

"'INVASION! INVASION!' A gerudo called from her post. The fleet ran to the window and sure enough a flood of nonhumans stood before the fortress ready to take it from a simple sixty soldiers. 'It's hopeless!' One of the Hylians cried. 'Call for reinforcements!' one of the Sheikah begged. 'From all the way across the Hyrule Plain?!' the general asked harshly. 'No, we'll fight,'. Ready for their inevitable death the few soldiers grabbed weapons and went to meet the mass of nonhumans. The battle was a landslide. The nonhumans were inside the fortress in a few minutes. They scoured the castle for the general who was the source of their misery. They found him a top a velvet seat.

"'Surrender and we'll spare your life,' Stoneheart growled. The general shook his head and with a self satisfied smirk he stepped on a sandstone tile engraved with the Gerudian crest. Sand started to creep in through the cracks in the walls.

"'Surprise'"

"Surprise what?" Ganondorf asked in dismay.

But Zelda was asleep her chest rising and falling generally. The king thought about shaking her awake but despite himself he felt his eyelids grow heavy.

When Zelda awoke the next morning she expected to see the traditional white linen gown for her execution. But it was not there. She turned around to face her captor.

"Where's the gown?"

"Your execution has been…postponed,"

Postponed?! Never in the history of his rule had a girl's execution been postponed!

"Why?"

He smiled. "I would enjoy hearing the end of your tale. You may go,"

Zelda nodded and got up. Her tale? The war story? Then it hit her. If she told him a story every night but dropped off just at the climax…she could live! Now it was her turn to smirk. She would foil his plot. And that's just what the young blonde did. Every night she told a tale one that enraptured her abductor. As she did, her yarns became more and more enchanting. Some nights they were tales of wits, other times war stories, and sometimes just fairy tales. During a bitter winter the ill tempered Gerudo who had brought Zelda her dress proved to be Ganondorf's sister and passed away. It was hard and the young girl's tales soothed his troubled soul. One night the yarn she had came up with that afternoon left her.

"Well…once upon a time…there was a block of cheese! It had many cheese friends and they all went on an adventure to defeat the evil cheese sorcerer (who was blue cheese)."

That morning Ganondorf told her how much he loved last night's tale. And how spectacular it was, full of rich detail about a valiant cheese.

This cycle of stories went on for 1,001 nights until one night she could not think of anything. Her blonde brows furrowed and she bit down hard on her lip. Ganondorf tipped Zelda's chin so they were eye to eye.

"Can't think of anything my dear?"

When she looked into his eyes she saw her own death.

"No. I…have a story. Once upon a time their lived a young and beautiful maiden. She lived a blissful life with her parents until one night when she was simply fourteen she was taken from everything she had ever known to a menacing castle where she would be executed on the 'morrow. That night she told her captor a tale of the civil war but fell asleep at the climax. Her story proved enchanting enough to postpone her execution to the next day. With this strategy for 1,001 nights she spun a yarn but stopped just at the climax to live another day. She became a young woman of seventeen and the original plan was to escape but now she had grown close to her captor. Through stories they had learned. And now on the one thousand and first night her feelings have grown from bitter hatred to tender affection. She looks gently up into his eyes and asked him 'Do you love me?'"

Ganondorf smiled genuinely and swept her up in his arms.

"Do you really think after almost three years I would really kill you?"

She blushed and looked away.

"I was afraid. I didn't know if the only reason you kept me alive was because I kept telling you stories or if…you have feelings for me. Y'know that cheese story really wasn't as great as you said,"

Ganondorf laughed. "In the beginning I was bent on your death but that simply faded with time and was replaced with love for you,"

Tears bubbled up in her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his neck. For a split second blue sky met sun. Then without warning, Zelda felt Ganondorf's lips pressed roughly against hers. She reached up and intertwined her hands in his coarse scarlet locks. His scent was familiar. Blood and soap. His kiss was hard and full of fire. She moaned and his hands moved down her body, fingertips brushing over the thin silk that barely covered her body. She heard him growl and the taste of his lips became more evident, more immediate. His kiss was rough and possessive as if he was making sure that she was his. He pulled her closer, up to him. Their bodies were pressed up against each other and she could feel his heart pounding against his chest. Eventually she pulled away and looked up into his golden eyes.

"Marry me Zelda?" he asked.

She nodded. "And this will only be the beginning of the greatest story in the history of Hyrule,"


End file.
